Fantasy Portraits

We got some fun portraits taken of our boys! Many of you know Patti. Well her dad, Allen, has his own business creating fantasy pictures of kids. He does fairies, princesses, knights, dragons, mermaids, and all sorts of fun fantasy situations. He got my son making poses and laughing, something I can never get him to do in front of a camera. Here are the ones he did of my adorable kids. And as fun as these ones are, the girl ones are even more so. Check out his website to learn more here or by clicking any of the pictures below. And for those of you that know Patti, you'll recognize Ryan in many of his sample portraits.

Destructo-Boy

Yes, that's the driver's seat of our car. So my dilemma is this: Is it Charlie's fault for getting into the car and opening a little jar of touch-up paint? Or is it my fault for forgetting to chain lock the door to the garage even though I know that he likes to play in there . . . and for leaving a jar of touch-up paint in the middle console just because he had never opened the console before? Mike and I even talked just last week about having to take the paint out, but we were on our way to the grocery store at the time and forgot by the time we got home. By the way, my son is also green, as is the bathtub and my only pair of jeans that fit me. Peter managed to get out of the situation unpainted. And now that Charlie is down for a nap, I'm going to spend the rest of the afternoon with a rag and a bottle of paint thinner.

A Little Obsessed

Charlie grew up in front of my camera phone. I used to send pictures to my family constantly when he was a baby, so naturally as he got older, he always wanted to play with it. At about 18 months old, he figured out that he could hear people talking, and started wanting to talk to them. By the time he turned two, he had to say hi to anyone that I talked to. Now it's getting out of hand. He loves to answer it when it rings and throws a tantrum when I don't let him. He follows me around while I'm talking saying, "Charlie's turn. Talk talk talk . . ."He knows how to call the last person who called. He knows how to call Aunt Brittany (because she's the first person on the contact list). He knows how to answer the call waiting. And he's the one that figured out how to do three-way-calling. If you missed the video that I posted of him talking to Grandpa Ron, you can see it here. No matter where I hide the phone, he always manages to find it. So if anyone gets a call from him at 5:30 in the morning I apologize. We're working on weaning him from it. :-)

This One's For You Heather

I caught him just in time . . .

Just a little photo session with The Bee

The Zoo

We decided to get summer passes to the zoo. If we go three times it'll be worth it and it gives me something to do during the day if Charlie and I get bored. He was a little confused when we took him for the first time, but by the end, he was loving it. He especially loves all the birds. I should have taken a picture of Peter, who slept the entire time.

By the way, I just noticed that on my post complaining about a guy's math skills, I totally spelled surprise wrong! And I spelled it wrong on my May 15th post as well! Did anyone else notice and laugh at me? Too funny, but I guess I always knew that English was not one of my best subjects.

Toddlers don't take good portraits.

Why is it so impossible to take a good picture with kids. I can't wait for the day when I can tell Charlie to look at the camera and say cheese and he actually does it. We took these two weeks ago at Peter's after blessing luncheon. It was so great to have everyone here and having fun. There is something about having people visit you at your house that makes it feel more like a home. Thank you to everyone who came! We love you all! (We also love those of you who weren't here- We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family!)




Oh and by the way I have some happy news, not that it matters to anyone except me . . . but my lilacs are starting to bloom! Yay! It'll take the attention away from my patch of headless tulips.

Math and Percentages

I overheard the following conversation at the mall, and just had to share it because it made me laugh. There was a girl (she looked college aged) looking at all the boxed DVD sets. They were marked 10% off.

She: (turning to guy next to her) How much is 10% off 40 dollars?

He: Um . . . . well 8 goes into 40 five times, so less than five. Probably $3 or $3.50.

Seriously. What are they teaching in today's schools? Maybe I'm just shocked because I was always really good at math. Is it just me? Or does that surprise anyone else? The thing is, he probably thought about it later and kicked himself for being so dumb in front of the pretty girl he took to the mall. Poor guy . . .

May 15th

First of all, it's my cousin Linsey's birthday. She's the one in the middle. I have a surprising number of pictures of us pretending to pick our noses. Linsey is my favorite cousin to play with, to laugh with, to talk to on the phone, to complain to, to listen to, and to just have around. Plus she has four of the cutest little girls ever!

So Happy Happy Birthday Linsey!

Second of all, did anyone know it's Flip Your Mattress Day? As I was sending an ecard to Linsey, I found Flip Your Mattress Day ecards everywhere. I guess some people really need to search for a reason to send cards.

Anyway, everyone go to your room and flip your mattress!

It's My Birthday

So I've decided that it's really fun to tell everyone it's your birthday, because then everyone says, "Happy Birthday" all day long. And even though they are just saying it because they feel like they have to . . . it still feels pretty good. :-) So Happy 28th Birthday to me! I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Little Boy Antics

Little boys are too funny. This weekend Charlie did everything he could to drive me crazy. I went upstairs to change Peter's diaper, and came back down to this . . .



Then when I got out of the shower on Sunday, we found Charlie, next to my tulip patch, arms full of just the heads, smiling like he had done the greatest thing . . .



The sad thing is, I would have liked to take pictures of him in the midst of these messes, but then he might get the idea that we think it's funny and continue to do all these things. And as cute as he looked with his hands full of tulips, I don't want him popping the rest of the heads off. I only have a few left!

I got a smiling picture

This one's especially for the grandparents . . .

An addition to the post below

I got a picture of him climbing over the fence to go see the kids next door. I can no longer let him in the backyard by himself . . .

New Friends

Charlie has discovered a hole in our backyard fence . . . and what should he find there, but more little boys. The two boys who live next door (aged 3 and 5) have started talking to Charlie through the fence. They show him their toys and Charlie is very good at giving them back. They show each other different ways to slide down a slide. They reach their hands through to shake hands and they talk and talk and talk. I don't know the neighbors' names, but they are so good about letting Charlie just go on and on like he does, and then they tell me what words they picked up on. It is so much fun to watch. I have had to pull Charlie off the fence a number of times because he is so determined to climb over there and play. (They have a bigger slide than we do.)

So I took some pictures. This was the day I was watching Patti and Alan's little boy Ryan, and for those of you that know them, I'll put a picture of him as well . . . and one of Peter, just so he doesn't feel left out.